Dickens sends Mr Pickwick and his companions to Bath for several riotous chapters, staying at the White Hart Inn (which still exists, though much altered) and attending a ball at the Assembly Rooms. The Bath episodes are among the funniest in the novel, full of social pretension, misunderstandings, and Dickens's gift for comic set-pieces.
The Pickwick Papers captures a Bath already past its Georgian golden age but still trading on its reputation. Dickens's affectionate mockery of the city's social climbing resonates with anyone who has watched the modern version play out over afternoon tea in the Pump Room.